On May 22, 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the law firm DLA Piper LLP (US) filed a legal complaint in federal district court to end the unlawful detention of Jose “Ivan” Noe Nuñez Martinez, requesting that the court either immediately order his release or conduct a bond hearing. Nuñez Martinez has been detained without a bond hearing since January 31, when he showed up for a mandatory interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Nuñez Martinez, 37, is a gay man from Michoacán, Mexico, who is married to Paul Frame, an American citizen. After the 2001 murder of a gay friend, Nuñez Martinez feared for his own life and fled to the United States. In order to guarantee their life together in the U.S., Frame submitted a Petition for Alien Relative to USCIS for Nuñez Martinez. On January 31, they both showed up for what they expected would be a routine marriage interview at a USCIS office. However, ICE agents stormed into the room mid-interview and arrested Nuñez Martinez, unlawfully detaining him without bond at the York County Prison, where he remains.

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Attorney(s)

Golnaz Fakhimi and Witold Walczak (ACLU of Pennsylvania); Ilana H. Eisenstein, Lauren M. Wilchek, and Mark A. Kasten (DLA Piper)

Date filed

May 22, 2018

Court

Federal District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Status

Open